Five years ago, a technology professional couldn't turn around in a crowded room without bumping into a vendor selling a hot new technology called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Each year brought the same promises of how VoIP would revolutionize the delivery of phone service, replacing expensive and cumbersome traditional phone service delivered by the "Baby Bells" with a cheap alternative.

There's a concept that some big retail purveyors have mastered in spades: Making people feel as if they are sitting in someone's house, all the while holding store-bought cups of coffee, books, or paninis. Even as the world grows more complicated, so the thinking goes, a big couch, custom-ordered food, and a crackling fireplace can help keep us centered.

Seeking the advice of an executive coach is becoming increasingly common in educational institutions across America. After all, professional athletes have coaches, so why shouldn't university administrators?

Too often, however, coaches are called in even though an administrator's poor performance is well beyond redemption. The intervention is thus set up for failure, right from the start. The likely result is that the institution loses not only the administrator but also the time and resources invested in the coaching engagement.

From application frustrations to test score worries, high school students and parents have a lot on their minds these days. As do Admissions offices, of course, in their quest to do ever better for their institutions. Here's a look at some of the current concerns and trends, as well as a glimpse at what college administrators should focus on in the coming year.

Just five years ago, University of Minnesota students had to visit four different buildings on campus just to register for classes. In fact, completing any administrative transaction--from requesting a transcript to paying a parking ticket--required a commute, as the university handled most of its student services in different buildings.

Four-and-a-half years into being the president of Wilkes University, I find myself more passionate than ever about the future of the City of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where we are located. Nearly $150 million worth of construction and renovation have begun in the downtown alone. And more is on the way as the city gets back on its feet again.

Just as library media centers and wireless implementations are keeping universities and colleges on the cutting edge of technology, so too are card programs trying to stay ahead, bringing more services and better access control into the mix.

Prior to 1997, the University of Michigan was a paper-laden institution. Financial Aid office staff members, in particular, were weighed down by a paper-intensive process and the need to purge documents every four years.